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Police said the victims -- a mother and her 15-year-old twin daughters -- were attacked around 6:30 p.m. Saturday in a second-floor apartment in the 100 block of Reider Court in Edgewood.

"I just heard the screaming from the girls or the mother -- it could have been all of them screaming -- but I thought they was playing. I didn't know there was something happening over there," said neighbor Ernestine Parker, who quickly learned it was an extremely serious situation.

"When I came out of my apartment, the father was standing at the door. When I came out of the building, he was in the house, and that's when I saw him screaming. I turned around and looked up in the window. I could see him screaming, so I asked him, 'What's the matter? What's happening? What's going on?' He was like, 'Call the police.' He just told me to call the police, and that's what I did," Parker said.

According to the charging document, Ivan Enrique Molina Bustamante went to the apartment armed with two knives. All three women had multiple stab wounds in the head, neck and chest.

One of the girls, identified as Melay Hernandez, was taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, where she died.

The 39-year-old mother, Maria Hernandez, and the other girl, Liz, were flown to Shock Trauma in Baltimore. Police said the mother was in critical condition after surgery and was upgraded to serious condition by Monday, while Liz was treated and released.

Bustamante, 21, of Bel Air, was found not far away around 11 a.m. Sunday and was charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and assault, authorities said.

Bustamante appeared in court on Monday for a bail review. Bustamante said very little but did answer "yes" when Judge David Carey asked if he had received a copy of the court charging document. Because of the seriousness of the charges, the judge decided that Bustamante will remain in jail without bail. He has another court hearing scheduled for Dec. 4.

According to the charging document, the sister who survived the attack told investigators that Bustamante is a relative; however, police are still trying to figure out a motive.

"It's still early in the investigation right now. There are no other suspects or persons of interest. We do know that this is not a random incident, but right now we don't know the relations between the victims and the suspect," said Harford County sheriff's Cpl. Warren Brooks.

Court records indicate Bustamante was arrested in June on assault charges and was given probation. He has a Dec. 18 court date on a violation of probation charge.

Bustamante had been working as a cook and delivery person for a pizza franchise and was planning to get a security job at a retail store, the charging document said.

Counselors and school psychologists are working with grief-stricken students at Edgewood High School, where Melay and Liz were sophomores.

Students said the sisters were extremely close. They said not knowing why the stabbings happened makes it harder to accept.

"She was a sweet person. She was smart, definitely smart. She definitely didn't deserve to die this way," said William Jefferson, who could barely get through his description of his friend, Melay, without breaking down. "She gave people hugs every chance she got, made people's day. Even when she wasn't really in the happiest mood herself, she always was trying to make other people's days better."

Neighbors said they had seen Bustamante with the family many times.

"I don't know if he's a family friend or relative or anything, but he was always there," said neighbor Doreen Hambrick. "I saw the father this morning, and he's devastated. His wife's in the hospital, his daughter is dead, and the other is injured. It's really sad."